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“I am disappointed to hear that Kermit Cintron will not fight me. It is the second time he has avoided facing me in the ring, and it is something I cannot comprehend. To be given the opportunity to fight for a world championship and to say “no” means that his fear is stronger than his desire. I have always kept my desire, my hunger. I have always been ready to fight any opponent who is put in front of me. I come from a proud tradition of boxers from Ghana. Men like Azumah Nelson and Ike Quartey. Like them, I am a warrior. And I will defend my title against any man. Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto, Andre Berto, Shane Mosley, Manny Pacquiao—I will face them one at a time and I will still be champion. If these fighters want to call themselves the best, and if they want the fans to believe they are the best, then they should stand up and meet me in the ring. For myself and for my homeland, I will be ready to defend my title.”

St. Pierre vs. Penn II to tear up Sin City: B. J. Penn’s hungry for revenge and Georges St. Pierre’s welterweight title. The Lightweight Champ gets his shot at history on Jan. 31. See the next chapter of this ferocious rivalry unfold inside the Octagon! Buy and sell tickets to UFC 94 on StubHub . . . Click here for more

Amir Khan’s promoter Frank Warren concluded negotiations with Marco Antonio Barrera’s promoter Don King at 4am Thursday morning. London is in the running to host the March 14th event, but Warren is still in negotiations, and may look for a site elsewhere in the UK. It was also confirmed that Nicky Cook will defend his WBO super-featherweight title on the undercard against mandatory challenger Roman Martinez, with Enzo Maccarinelli also in action against TBA. Warren said that ticket prices for the fight would be competitive, and he is expecting a sell out. Khan was installed as a slight favorite for the fight at around 11-8 with Barrera at even.

On a national teleconference held today, both WBA welterweight champion Antonio Margarito (37-5, 27 KOs) and challenger “Sugar” Shane Mosley (45-5, 38 KOs) promised victories for their showdown next week at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

“All I’m thinking about is Mosley,” declared Margarito. “He’s a very experienced fighter … He’s a great champion and I’m not gonna underestimate him. But I put in the work in my training and I have what it takes to win. I’m ready to put on a good show.”

“I’m confident that I’m going to be spectacular,” said Mosley. “I’m at my best and I’m not going to try to get away from him, like Cotto. I’m going to get my shots in … I’m ready to get it on.” – Stay tuned for a full report tomorrow!

Coming into UFC 88, Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann was on a roll. He found victory in his first four Octagon outings; three by submission, one by unanimous decision. In addition to his knockout power, his ever-improving ground game made him a growing threat in the middleweight division.. . . Click here for more

UFC 93 is live on PPV from the O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland, January 17 at 8 PM GMT. In the light heavyweight main event, former two-division world champion Dan Henderson will collide with former UFC middleweight king Rich Franklin in three-round war which will set the tone for the 205lbs division in 2009. Then, 2005 PRIDE® Grand Prix Champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua returns to the Octagon™ to throw down with UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman in a rematch MMA fans thought they would never see. The pair last met in Japan in 2006, with the legendary Coleman pulling off a stunning upset by breaking Rua’s arm in the first round. For more info, visit 93.ufc.com

On February 20th, promoter Ahmet Öner will present his next FNF show live from the University Center Arena at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The show labelled as “The Gunslingers” will feature rising Colombian lightweight star Breidis Prescott (20-0, 18 KOs), fellow Colombian jr. middleweight contender Richard Gutierrez (24-2-1, 13 KOs) and hot Cuban jr. middleweight prospect Erislandy Lara (3-0, 2 KOs). The 25-year-old Prescott shocked the world in September when he knocked out uo-and-coming British star Amir Khan in his backyard in Manchester. (more…)

Lightweight contender Amir Khan (19-1, 15 KOs) will fight Mexican legend and former multi-weight world champion Marco Antonio Barrera (64-6, 43 KOs) on March 14 it was confirmed by promoter Frank Warren today. No venue has been confirmed for the mouth-watering showdown, although Warren did say that it would take place in the UK with a normal UK start time. Khan will benefit from having the input of Freddie Roach, who helped guide Manny Pacquiao to two wins over Barrera. No television deal for the fight was announced.

Manny Pacquiao is steadfast in not agreeing to face Ricky Hatton if he doesn’t get the bigger slice of the pie in the revenue sharing. “If it’s 50-50, forget about it (the fight),” Pacquiao told Manila Bulletin and Fightnews late Thursday afternoon. “If I agree on the offer of 50-50, it would not look good on me. I made a sacrifice when I agreed to fight De La Hoya for a smaller percentage. But not this time. I will be the laughing stock if I agree to the 50-50 sharing,” said Pacquiao, who offically became boxing’s biggest draw when he stopped Oscar De La Hoya last December. (more…)

Eromosele Albert (21-2, 10 KOs) hits the pads with trainer Orlando Cuellar as he prepares for his main event on this weeks edition of ESPN2’s Friday night fights. Albert was orginally supposed to face former world champion Carlos Quintana, but when that fight fell through multiple fighters were proposed as replacements with veteran Germaine Sanders (21-6, 17 KOs) getting what appears to be the final nod. (more…)

Famed ex-Soviet amateur fighter Gennady Shatkov tragically passed away after a long-term disease yesterday in his hometown of Saint Petersburg. He was 76. Shatkov is best known for winning a gold medal at 1956 Melbourne Olympics in super middleweight division. He also was a three-time national (1955, 1956 and 1958) and two-time European (1955 and 1959) champion but due to infamous political circumstances couldn’t even think of fighting in the paid ranks. His overall amateur record was 215-12.
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Meanwhile, another Russian amateur superstar Alexey Tischenko has confirmed he doesn’t plan on turning pro. “I haven’t decided yet whether I would continue my amateur career or not. But I definitely have no intentions on becoming a professional fighter. I’m currently training a bit and testing my senses and thoughts. I’ll continue fighting only if I feel enough driving power and winning desire in me. If not I’ll pursue other goals in business or in politics. The only thing which can really motivate me is a chance to become a three-time Olympic gold medalist. But no decision at the time,” commented Alexey, 24, to ‘All Sport’ media agency. Tischenko is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the featherweight (2004) and lightweight (2008) divisions. He is also working as a deputy for Omsk region general court.
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WBO #5, WBC #6 and WBA/IBF #7 rated European welterweight champ Rafal Jackiewicz (33-8-1, 18 KOs) will make the second defense of his title on Feb. 28th in Lublin. Jackiewicz, who has sensationally upset tough Ghanaian Jackson Osei Bonsu in September, will collide with unbeaten Italian WBO #14 Luciano Abis (25-0-1, 11 KOs). The show will be promoted by the leading Polish promotional company Bullit KnockOut Promotions. Also in action will be a bunch of highly regarded Polish talent, including Andrzej Wawrzyk (13-0, 8 KOs), Damian Jonak (19-0, 14 KOs), Tomasz Bonin (40-3, 22 KOs), Jarosław Hutkowski (9-0, 5 KOs), Tomasz Hutkowski (13-0-1, 10 KOs), Artur Szpilka (2-0, 1 KO) and Grzegorz Soszyński (11-0-1, 5 KOs).
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Former cruiserweight king Vassiliy Jirov is a free agent nowadays but he still hopes to continue his pro career. “If I am approached by a determined promoter with enough abilities I’ll be ready to go on as soon as possible. I still have it in me to get back to the top and to acquire the world champion regalia once again,” said Jirov to Caravan Kazakh web media agency. “I’m a free agent right now and I’ll carefully study all the possibilities.” He has a backup plan however, too. “I’m working in one automobile company. We construct specific devices to increase car’s mileage. More projects are coming soon so I have something for me outside of boxing as well.” Jirov (37-3-1, 31 KOs), 34, was a 1996 Altanta gold medalist in the light heavyweight division and Val Barker trophy owner. He acquired the IBF 200lb belt in 1999 and retained it six times until losing to James Toney in 2003. Jirov was last seen in the ring stopping Kenny Craven in two in 2007.
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It seems, reigning EBU-EE light middleweight champion Jimmy Colas (24-4, 11 KOs) will defend his title against perennial Czech contender Lucas Konecny (38-3, 19 KOs) on March 31st, in Prague. Konecny is ranked WBO #2, IBF #10 and WBA #11. The show will be promoted by SES Sport Events Steinforth.

A fascinating female clash will take place on January 17th at the Burg-Wächter Castello in Düsseldorf when local favorite and WIBF/WBC featherweight champion Ina Menzer (22-0, 9 KOs) defends against former champion Esther Schouten (22-4-1, 11 KOs). Ina Menzer and Esther Schouten met on Monday for the first time at the press conference at the Uerige Brewery in Düsseldorf in front of many journalists. For Schouten, it will be her fifth fight back since having her career derailed for cancer treatment. (more…)

The reigning WBA heavyweight world champion (in recess) Ruslan Chagaev (24-0-1, 17 KOs) will return to action on February 7th against the unbeaten Carl Davis Drumond (26-0, 20 KOs) at the Stadthalle Rostock. Two American heavyweight fighters have been brought in to be his sparring partners. The one is Leo Nolan (27-1, 10 KOs) of Detroit, Michigan and the other is Terry “The Troublemaker” Smith (30-6-1, 18 KOs) of Little Rock, Arkansas. Both have been in the Universum Gym in Hamburg for a week now. The first sparring rounds of Chagaev weren’t supervised by his trainer Michael Timm, who is currently in Düsseldorf with Ina Menzer in preparation for her upcoming world title fight against Esther Schouten this Saturday. Timm’s assistant trainer Artur Grigorian is supervising the sessions at the moment. The former world champion Grigorian said, “The first sparring went really well for Ruslan. He knows what to do although he will make a slower start this week. It has been a long break after his Achilles injury.” Commenting on his first sparring, Chagaev said, “The last sparring I had done was in May last year. Afterwards I had a long rehabilitation period which was quite tiring. But now I’m looking forward to the next weeks. I don’t feel anything from my injury and I’m very happy to be back. I can hardly wait to be back in Rostock.”

The World Boxing Association has begun to review and to consult about happened in the fight between Nicolay Valuev and Evander Holyfield on December 20th in Zurich. “We are going to review all that happened to see if irregularities in the fight did happen. All our fights are important and we give a lot of attention to each one and this will not be the exception independently on the claims on the part of Holyfield. It is the duty of the WBA to review thoroughly the video of this fight and any situation out of the ring. We have to seek a good answer for the fans, the world press and above all to take care of the integrity of the results,” said Gilberto Mendoza Jr., WBA Executive Vice-President. At the WBA Headquarters in Panama, Mendoza Jr. will head a group of Panamanian WBA judges to analyze the video of the fight round by round. Referees Pierluigi Poppi (116-112) and Mikael Hook (115-114) scored the bout for Valuev, while Guillermo Perez Pineda had it 114-114. The results of the investigation will be known “in the next weeks.”

The purse bid scheduled for for the vacant IBF jr. middleweight title between Cory Spinks and Deandre Latimore has been canceled. The two sides have reached an agreement with site and date to be announced.
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The purse bid scheduled for January 22 for the IBF welterweight mandatory defense between champion Joshua Clottey and Kermit Cintron has been canceled after Cintron decided to go in another direction. Three other IBF purse bids remain scheduled for the 22nd:
1) An IBF cruiserweight eliminator between B.J. Flores and Wayne Braithwaite
2) An IBF bantamweight eliminator between Silence Mabuza and Yonnhy Perez
3) An IBF jr. flyweight eliminator between Bert Batawang and Carlos Tamara

Former #1 rated junior middleweight contender Sechew Powell (25-2, 15 KOs) took apart Christian Lloyd Joseph (12-8-3, 5 KOs) in less than three rounds on Wednesday night at the Hard Rock LIVE Arena in Hollywood, Florida. Powell jumped on Joseph and punished him on the ropes for much of round one although Joseph blocked many shots. Powell hurt Joseph at the end of round two and after he rocked Joseph in round three the bout was stopped. Time was 2:30. Powell claimed the IBA 154lb belt with the win.

Photo: Javiel Centeno

In a light heavyweight clash, fan favorite KO artist Edison Miranda (31-3, 27 KOs) again displayed his power. Pantera dropped Emmanuel Esparza (20-8-1, 5 KOs) in round two and ended it spectacularly with a left hook at of round three. Esparza was counted out by referee Jorge Ortiz at :52. An impressive performance for Miranda coming off his loss to middleweight champion Arthur Abraham in his previous fight.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) announced today that UFC 94: ST-PIERRE vs. PENN 2 is officially sold out. The mega-fight pitting Champion against Champion that will take place Saturday, January 31, is one of the most anticipated UFC bouts in history and now can be seen only on pay-per-view. More than 14,000 fans are expected to attend the event live inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas . . . Click here for more

WBA #10 rated and undefeated heavyweight contender, Carl Davis Drumond, plans to shock the boxing world February 7th when he fights WBA “Champion in Recess” Ruslan “White Tyson” Chagaev, live on pay-per-view in the United States from Rostock, Germany. “The Champion Returns” card, presented by Universum Boxing-Promotion, will also feature on PPV the WBA light welterweight title fight between title holder Andreas Kotelnik and undefeated #1 contender Marcos Rene “El Chino” Maidana, as well as hot Russian prospect Denis Boytsov against a challenger to be determined for the vacant WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship. (more…)

Former two-time featherweight champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (22-1-1, 15 KOs) returns to the ring in his super featherweight debut against veteran Edel Ruiz (31-21-4, 22 KOs) in the featured undercard attraction on the January 24th welterweight championship showdown between Antonio Margarito and Sugar Shane Mosley at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. Guerrero, a recent signee of Golden Boy Promotions, is entering the ring after nearly a year layoff.

By Matt Richardson, photos by Ed Mulholland
After losing in dramatic fashion in two of the highest profile fights of 2008, middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik and former two-division champion Miguel Cotto will both return to the ring on February 21st on a pay-per-view card distributed by their promoter Top Rank, it was announced on Tuesday at an afternoon press conference at Madison Square Garden in New York City . . . . Click here for more

Story by Edgar Gonzalez, photos by ‘Big’ Joe Miranda
With a commitment of a five-year contract with Don King Promotions the 16-year veteran and seven-time world champion in three different weight classes, Marco Antonio Barrera continues to give back to the boxing community . . . Click here for more

Since the Ultimate Fighting Championship began its “durable and sustainable” foray into the UK at 2007’s UFC 70:Worlds Collide, there have been a pair of show stealers lurking on the most of the subsequent undercards. While Marcus Davis and Chris Lytle have lit up the MMA world facing a various array of dangerous UK-based opponents, UFC 93 finally offers fight fans the chance to see the former professional boxers square off against each other . . . Click here for more by Brady Crytzer

UFC 93 is live on PPV from the O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland, January 17 at 8 PM GMT. In the light heavyweight main event, former two-division world champion Dan Henderson will collide with former UFC middleweight king Rich Franklin in three-round war which will set the tone for the 205lbs division in 2009. Then, 2005 PRIDE® Grand Prix Champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua returns to the Octagon™ to throw down with UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman in a rematch MMA fans thought they would never see. The pair last met in Japan in 2006, with the legendary Coleman pulling off a stunning upset by breaking Rua’s arm in the first round. For more info, visit 93.ufc.com

Arena CEO Ahmet Öner has added former IBF super middleweight and WBC light heavyweight champion Graciano Rocchigiani to his trainer staff. 45-year-old “Rocky” is now responsible for the development of rising Turkish welterweight star Selcuk Aydin. “I am glad to have the chance to work with a rough diamond like Selcuk,” states Rocchigiani. “If he stays focused and keeps on working hard he will surely not only become world champion but a dominant force and an international superstar.” (more…)

iBN Sports will air tonight’s Seminole Warriors Boxing doubleheader over the Al Bernstein Boxing Channel (ABBC). The event from the Hard Rock in Florida will be made available for pay-per-view fans along with a spectacular bonus fight from the Seminole Warriors library of past events. The live portion featuring Edison Miranda and Sechew Powell in separate bouts is billed as the “Hard Knocks at the Hard Rock.” The agreement to broadcast this January match-up, a first of many Warriors Boxing events over the ABBC, represents iBN Sports’ commitment to bring engaging and competitive bouts to a new worldwide generation of boxing fans. In addition to showcasing the current fights, iBN Sports will also offer Pay-Per-View packages from the Warriors’ action packed library. For more information regarding this and other events, log onto http://www.warriorsboxing.com and if you can’t be at the Seminole Hard Rock LIVE Arena for tonight’s fight card, log into http://www.ibnsports.com to view the action.

Sad news to report. Annapolis, MD super middleweight Steve Garrett was shot and killed near his home in Annapolis on January 6. According to The Capital newspaper, police were called to Bowman Drive in Annapolis at about 9 p.m. on the sixth for the report of a car accident and found Garrett in a car suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. So far, police have not released any information about a suspect or motive and are seeking the public’s help providing any information.
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Garrett (2-6) fought off and on between 2000 and 2007. He served as the pro debut opponents for current IBF Light Heavyweight champ Chad Dawson and “Contender — Season One” star Peter Manfredo, Jr. Garrett also battled current Maryland prospects. Mike Paschall, Jarell Mason Jackson and Joshua Snyder. Garrett’s last bout was on November 1, 2007 when he lost to Jimmy Lubash during a Jonathan Odgen Foundation benefit boxing card at Martin’s Valley Mansion in Cockeysville, MD. Fightnews sends condolences to the Garrett family. Garrett was 39 years old.

Mention a boxer named “K-9″, and everyone who follows boxing, and, thanks to the TV reality show “The Contender Season 2″, many who don’t, know you are talking about junior middleweight contender Cornelius “K-9″ Bundrage. “It sounds scary, so I picked it up for respect,” said Bundrage of his unusual nickname. “Being from Detroit, which is real rough, I couldn’t be Cornelius – they would try me.” Bundrage is coming off of an impressive fifth round stoppage of IBF #7-ranked Zaurbek Baysangurov, on December 13 in Germany. Bundrage, who was ranked #14 in the IBF before the fight, should move into the division’s top-10 at the very least. (more…)

The WBC has announced a World Cup tournament for boxing later this year. “Boxing is going through a critical stage and we need heroes,” stated WBC president Jose Sulaiman. “We expect to carry out a World Cup with the countries that belong to the WBC during the second half of this year….we need to survive in boxing and new figures need to appear. I maintain that the idols are important for boxing.” The WBC chief proposed that each country would conduct internal tournaments to define their representatives for the final phase of the World Cup, which will include the participation of a great majority of member countries in the sanctioning organization.

At the break of dawn, Jorge “Travieso” Arce (54-4-1, 39 KOs) runs at extremely high altitude of the mountains of Toluca, Mexico. The fight is now less than a month away and the former world champion is convinced that his tremendous conditioning will play in his keys to being successful in his challenge of unified super flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan (31-1-1, 25 KOs). “I’m pushing my body to its maximum limits in training for this fight,” commented Arce. “This is without a doubt the biggest fight of my career. Losing is not an option for me.” Arce-Darchinyan will take place on February 7th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California and be televised on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING.